Economic and management perspectives on the value of patents

This chapter will fi rst clarify the defi nition of patent value adopted in the economic literature. Then, it will illustrate the diff erent approaches adopted to infer patent value (through patent renewal data, actual commercial transactions, inventors’ surveys, stock market valuation of publicly- listed corporations, and venture capitalists’ valuations of start- up companies) and summarize the main results obtained, with particular reference to the widely- observed heterogeneity in the value of patents. It will then focus on the diff erent value determinants (that is, at the level of patent/technology, inventor, organisation, localisation, and so on) which have been associated by empirical studies with patent value. Finally, it will conclude by discussing the opportunities for future research on the topic.